This Way of St. James is not frequented very much. Is is a lengthy itinerary along the foothills of the Pyrenees, as the name suggests. It does call upon interesting towns and cities, among them Lourdes.

The Voie du Piémont starts at the beach of Narbonne and heads straight west, passing the fortress of Carcasonne. The first part is rather flat. The GR7 and GR78 can be used. But in the central Pyrenees, one has to walk up and down from valley to valley. In Oloron-Sainte-Marie, one finds the Via Tolosana coming from Arles. But instead of taking this way over the Pyrenees, the Voie du Piémont continues till it reaches Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port where it connects to the Via Podiensis, GR65.

By the way: from Narbonne, the pilgrim can also take the Way south to Le Perthus, cross the border into Catalunya, and use the Catalan pilgrim ways to continue to Santiago de Compostela.

Le Chemin du Piémont Pyrénéen, FFRP topoguide, Ref. No. 780, covering the GR78 - the Way of St. James along the northern side of the Pyrenees from Carcassonne to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side, with an alternative variant to cross the mountains along the Col du Somport. Current edition of this title was published in April 2014.ABOUT THE FFRP...Read more